Tag: feta

Vegetarian/

Caramelized Fennel with Feta

An overhead shot of a small green plate with caramelized fennel topped with roast pine nuts and crumbled feta and fennel fronds scattered across with a bamboo fork sticking out at the top, next to it is a small tan bowl filled with crumbled feta on top of a light green backdrop.

It’s been a while since I’ve added a new recipe on here because I have been dealing with Stuff. I have a deadline for the clarification of said Stuff now and will hopefully be able to start sharing recipes again on a regular basis in the second half of the year, but for now, you’ll have to deal with patchy updates.

Feel free to follow me on Instagram for behind-the-scenes madness, cats and me growing my first tomatillos, or on Twitter where I passive aggressively like political tweets so they land in your feed without your being able to tell me you disagree with me.

There is also The Big Thing, which I don’t really want to talk about because everyone else is already talking about it. But I can share a simple recipe (and hopefully a few more) while we are all stuck indoors.

The cover of Yotam Ottolenghi's PlentyGoat cheese schmoat cheese

So here’s an old favorite of mine, adapted from a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty, caramelized fennel with feta and pine nuts.

Ottolenghi makes his with goat quark or yogurt, but since I always have feta on hand I prefer to make it like this. I like to throw in some pine nuts for good measure, because pine nuts. Hazelnuts would probably also be very nice.

What do I eat with caramelized fennel with feta?

I eat this by myself for lunch or dinner as a main course with some pita or Turkish bread. You could probably also have it with some simply baked white fish or salmon but I don’t think it needs much more. If there are two of you you’ll probably went to get a bulb each or add another dish to ensure a satisfying meal.

An overhead shot of a small green plate with caramelized fennel topped with roast pine nuts and crumbled feta and fennel fronds scattered across with a bamboo fork sticking out at the top, next to it is a small tan bowl filled with crumbled feta on top of a light green backdrop.

Caramelized Fennel with Feta and Pine Nuts

Dorothy Porker
A vegetarian recipe for caramelized with feta and pine nuts, inspired by Ottolenghi. Perfect at all temperatures for spring, summer, fall and winter.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main course
Cuisine Vegetarian
Servings 1 -2 people

Equipment

  • Large frying pan or skillet
  • Large plate

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large bulb fennel cut into 1 cm/ 5 inch slices, fronds set aside
  • 2 x 2 T - 20 gr butter
  • 3 T - 15 ml olive oil
  • 2 T - 25 gr sugar
  • 1 t - 5 gr fennel seeds ground works too in a pinch, but not as nicely
  • 4 oz - 120 gr feta crumbled, you can do this by stabbing it with a fork and then twisting the fork
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1/4 c - 33 gr pine nuts dry roasted in a skillet or non-stick frying pan to bring out the flavor

Instructions
 

  • Melt 1 T - 20 gr of butter and 3 T - 45 ml of olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan.
  • Once the butter stops bubbling, place as many slices of fennel into the pan as it will comfortably hold (usually about half of the fennel) and roast for 3-6 minutes on each side to get a decent amount of color on them. This will go a lot quicker if you resist the urge to move them around.
  • When the first batch of fennel has browned nicely, set it aside on a large plate or in a bowl, add 1 T - 20 gr butter again and fry the second batch as before.
  • Remove the remainder of the fennel when ready, leave the pan on the heat and add 2 T - 30 gr sugar, 1 T - 15 gr fennel seeds and a good helping of salt and pepper. Shake the pan vigorously for 30 seconds or so to help the butter, oil, fennel seeds and sugar divide evenly across the bottom of the pan.
  • Now place all the pre-cooked fennel back into the pan and let sit on each side for 2-4 minutes until you get some REALLY good caramelisation going on.
  • Remove from the pan and back into your large bowl or plate and mix with the finely chopped clove of garlic while still hot.
  • Depending on the weather and the season, serve immediately or leave until cooled covered in a healthy dose of the crumbled feta, dry roasted pine nuts, chopped fennel fronds and more seasoning to taste.
Keyword fennel, feta, ottelenghi, pine nuts, pinenuts, Salad

Zoek je dit recept in het Nederlands? Ga dan naar vettesletten.nl voor gekarameliseerde venkel met feta en pijnboompitten. 

Salad/

Donna Hay’s Pea, Mint and Feta Salad

Two blocks of feta with a boiled egg balancing on top, surrounding by new potatoes, peas, mint and dry-cured ham

I don’t really think salad’s are recipes so we’ll keep it short.

A stack of dry-cured ham, feta, a new potato and a mint leaf enveloping a pea floating in the air

This pea, mint, feta and new potato salad is from Donna Hay‘s Fast, Fresh and Simple. It’s a great staple cookbook for people who love one paragraph recipes and don’t like to spend hours in the kitchen.

This salad ignited a love for fresh peas in me, though frozen ones will do as well.

Two plates of Donna Hay's pea, mint and feta salad

Variations on Donna Hay’s pea, mint and feta salad

I usually make this as is and have it as a main course for lunch or dinner. You can add some dry-cured ham, as Donna suggests and I’ve eaten it with grilled octopus in the past, back when I still ate octopus, so you can probably imagine grilled chicken or pork would work equally well.

That said, it doesn’t really need anything beyond the foundation and the soft-boiled egg I’ve added. Though I bet you can switch out the feta for other more tangy cheeses, like a nice blue, as well.

Two blocks of feta with a boiled egg balancing on top, surrounding by new potatoes, peas, mint and dry-cured ham

Donna Hay's pea, mint and feta salad

Dorothy Porker
This recipe from Donna Hay is indeed fresh, fast and simple and is a great showcase for fresh peas and new potatoes.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Course Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine Australian, British
Servings 2

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Oven proof dish or tray
  • Small pan
  • Plate for serving

Ingredients
  

  • 7 oz - 200 gr new potatoes scrubbed clean and halved but not peeled
  • 1 T - 15 ml olive oil
  • pinch salt
  • pinch black pepper
  • 1 c - 125 gr peas frozen or fresh
  • 2 T - 30 ml olive oil
  • 1 T - 15 ml white wine vinegar apple cider vinegar or white balsamic are also nice
  • 1 t - 5 gr mustard of choice, I prefer French
  • 2.5 oz - 75 gr feta
  • 1 bunch mint
  • 2 medium eggs soft boiled, optional
  • 6 slices dry-cured ham prosciutto works nicely for example, optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat an oven to 350° F/ 175° C.
  • Coat 7 oz - 200 gr of halved new potatoes in 2 T - 30 ml of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and bake them in the oven for about 25 minutes until golden.
  • Blanch 1 c - 125 gr frozen peas in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, blanch fresh peas for 8-10 minutes. Be sure to try some for doneness as they cook. Once they're to your liking, drain and rinse with cold water to prevent them from cooking any further if you're picky.
  • Mix together 2 T - 30 ml of olive oil, 1 T - 15 ml of vinegar and 1 t - 5 gr mustard with a pinch of salt and pepper to make a basic vinaigrette.
  • Crumble 2.5 oz - 75 gr of feta with your hands or cut it into cubes or blocks.
  • You're ready to plate up. I like to start with a good chuck of the peas before dividing the new potatoes and feta over the plate, sprinkling it with some torn mint leaves and then finishing off with the vinaigrette before plonking a soft boiled egg on top and letting the egg yolk ooze out.

Notes

As this dish is all about freshness it doesn't really store or keep unless you like cold potatoes (I do, just not in this case).
Keyword caesar salad, donna hay recipes, mint, new potatoes, peas, Salad

Zoek je dit recept in het Nederlands? Ga dan naar VetteSletten.nl voor Donna Hay’s salade van doperwtjes, munt en feta.

Sides/

Honey Roast Carrots with Feta

An oven dish filled with roast carrots, feta, pine nuts and coriander

That’s it. That’s the recipe. Honey roast carrots with sumac, feta, coriander and pine nuts. I love easy pretty meals so Donna Hay‘s Fast, Fresh and Simple is high on my usability list.

The cover of Donna Hay's Fast Fresh Simple Cookbook

Sides are mains too

This is supposed to be a side but I have it as a main by myself for dinner all the time. If it’s not filling enough for you add some bread.

Variations on a theme

Donna makes it with goat cheese but I find feta works equally well. As you can imagine you can do this with many different root vegetable, cheese and nut combos.

Honey Roast Carrots with Feta

Dorothy Porker
Delicious roast carrots that can serve as a side or a main. Inspired on a recipe from Donna Hay's Fast, Fresh, Simple.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Course Dinner, Main course, Side dish
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Servings 2

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Small bowl
  • Oven dish
  • Tin foil
  • Fork
  • Frying pan or skillet

Ingredients
  

  • 2 T - 30 ml honey
  • 3 T - 45 ml olive oil
  • 1 t - 5 gr cumin
  • pinch salt
  • pinch pepper
  • bunch carrots
  • 2 T - 30 gr pine nuts
  • 3/4 c - 100 gr feta
  • bunch coriander roughly chopped
  • 1 t - 5 gr sumac

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven at 200° C/ 400° F. Mix together the 2 T - 30 ml honey, 3 T - 45 ml olive oil, pinches of salt and pepper and 1 t - 5 gr cumin in a small bowl.
  • Wash a bunch of carrots and trim the tops. If you are so inclined, you can peel them like I did for this shoot, but normally I can't be bothered to be honest.
  • Now coat the carrots in the honey mixture and place them into a nice roomy oven dish. Cover with tinfoil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
  • Remove the tinfoil and bake for another 15 minutes, until the edges start to caramelize.
  • While your carrots are doing that, use a fork to crumble up 3/4 c - 100 gr of feta. Use more if you want, because feta. Dry roast 2 T - 30 gr of pine nuts in a dry skillet or frying pan to get a nice color of them and boost the flavor.
  • As soon as your carrots come out of the oven, sprinkle over the crumbled feta, toasted pine nuts and chopped coriander and finally 1 T - 15 gr of sumac. You can move it to a nice plate before you do this of course, or just leave it and dig right in.

Notes

On a hot day I am sure you can also leave the carrots to cool before adding the feta, pine nuts, coriander and sumac but I mostly eat this in winter and the heat from the carrots gives the feta a nice little melt so I mostly eat this piping hot.
Keyword carrots, cookbook recipe, donna hay, easy vegetarian, fast fresh simple, power vegetables, vegetarian

Zoek je dit recept in het Nederlands? Ga dan naar VetteSletten.nl voor geroosterde wortel met feta, pijnboompitten en koriander.